Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles

Kent Twitchell is one of the world's leading muralists, and his monumental figures are long familiar to Angelinos.  He is famous for his larger-than-life, photo realistic, mural portraits, often of celebrities and artists.  After working during the 1960s as an Air Force artist in London, Twitchell moved to Los Angeles in 1966 and began creating what he refers to as "Street Art."  His ambitious series of murals, "Monuments to American Cultural Heroes," started in 1971 with Steve McQueen Monument," near downtown LA and "Strother Martin Monument" in Hollywood.  His murals, studio paintings and drawings most often depict a lone figure standing and looking straight out at the viewer.  In the past 45 years he's created over 100 murals in U.S. cities.  To celebrate the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Twitchell painted two murals, "Jim Morphesis Monument" and "Lita Albuquerque Monument," which face one another on the 101 freeway.  This year, Twitchell returned to commemorate the 2015 Special Olympic World Games with "Special Olympics Monument," located at 1147 S. Hope St. in Los Angeles.  His mural is a double portrait of Rafer Johnson, an LA icon and Olympic Gold Medalist and standing alongside Rafer is Loretta Claiborne, a successful Special Olympics athlete and motivational speaker.  This mural was created in partnership with the 2015 Special Olympics and the generosity of Toyota.  It is one of three murals created for the 2015 Special Olympics under the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles and managed by Branded Arts.

Click the link to watch the video produced by Anchorfield about Kent Twitchell, his work and a look into his process.  http://s56087.gridserver.com/ftp/toyota/Twitchell_v5.mp4 

All photos © Gil Ortiz